PROBLEM 7. CAREER CHOICES 1
Careers and career management, Arnold (2005)
Bureaucratic career: increasing status within a job or
organization
Professional career: growth of development and competence
through complex tasks
Entrepreneurial career: capacity to spot opportunities and
create valued outputs
The Boundaryless career
Definition: a range of career forms that defy traditional
employment assumptions
By choice or necessity move boundaries in orgs, departments
hierarchies, functions and skills
o Work/non-work boundary: increasing consideration of the
job’s impact for their home and working at home option more
available
Necessary for individuals to maintain their employability and
for organizations to maintain their effectiveness
Threatening/Confusing strong ones prosper, weak ones
further disadvantaged
Career anchors
Definition: part of the self-concept that is very central and the
person would not give it up even if he/she is forced to make a
difficult choice
Concerned with managing others, generalists that
Managerial regard special spots as short-term opportunities.
competence They value income, leadership, advancement and
responsibility
Keen to develop and maintain specialist skills and
knowledge in their area of expertise. Form their
Technical/functional identity around work
competence Problem in project-based multidisciplinary
teams, they cannot go very far (because of
specialization)
Reliable and predictable job environment. Security
Security
of tenure or security of location
Autonomy and Free from restrictions in their activities, refusing to
independence bound to rules, set hours, dress codes etc.
Entrepreneurial Create products, services and organizations of
creativity their own not necessarily running them
Winning against strong competition or other
Pure challenge
obstacles
Work that expresses social, political, religious or
Service/dedication other values important for individuals, choice of
, PROBLEM 7. CAREER CHOICES 2
orgs that reflect these values as well
Balance between work, family, leisure and other
Lifestyle integration
activities so they don’t have to sacrifice one
Career success
Objective career success: status and earnings traditional
career concept
Subjective career
success: influence,
recognition,
accomplishment,
enjoyment etc.
Model of career success
Boundaryless career difficult
to measure and that’s why the
main focus of research is on
objective career success
Tournaments (objective)
social/structural factors override human capital (person
with abilities discouraged after a loss)
Judge et.al reported correlation of satisfaction and salary
objective and subjective career are related
Personality: proactive personality better earnings, promotion
options and career satisfaction – innovative work, challenges, taking
initiative
Social network theory: structural holes and weak ties allow the
person to access many perspectives and their number can predict
contacts and therefore career satisfaction
Structural holes: extent to which and individual’s contacts do
not know each other
Weak ties: many contacts you slightly know rather than few
contacts you know well
Psychological contract
Definition: one’s beliefs about the terms and conditions of an
exchange they have with another party – belief that a form of
promise has been made and that terms and conditions have been
accepted by both parties e.g. informal agreements
1. Relational contract: long-term relationship based on trust and
mutual respect
Employee: loyal and working hard for employer
Careers and career management, Arnold (2005)
Bureaucratic career: increasing status within a job or
organization
Professional career: growth of development and competence
through complex tasks
Entrepreneurial career: capacity to spot opportunities and
create valued outputs
The Boundaryless career
Definition: a range of career forms that defy traditional
employment assumptions
By choice or necessity move boundaries in orgs, departments
hierarchies, functions and skills
o Work/non-work boundary: increasing consideration of the
job’s impact for their home and working at home option more
available
Necessary for individuals to maintain their employability and
for organizations to maintain their effectiveness
Threatening/Confusing strong ones prosper, weak ones
further disadvantaged
Career anchors
Definition: part of the self-concept that is very central and the
person would not give it up even if he/she is forced to make a
difficult choice
Concerned with managing others, generalists that
Managerial regard special spots as short-term opportunities.
competence They value income, leadership, advancement and
responsibility
Keen to develop and maintain specialist skills and
knowledge in their area of expertise. Form their
Technical/functional identity around work
competence Problem in project-based multidisciplinary
teams, they cannot go very far (because of
specialization)
Reliable and predictable job environment. Security
Security
of tenure or security of location
Autonomy and Free from restrictions in their activities, refusing to
independence bound to rules, set hours, dress codes etc.
Entrepreneurial Create products, services and organizations of
creativity their own not necessarily running them
Winning against strong competition or other
Pure challenge
obstacles
Work that expresses social, political, religious or
Service/dedication other values important for individuals, choice of
, PROBLEM 7. CAREER CHOICES 2
orgs that reflect these values as well
Balance between work, family, leisure and other
Lifestyle integration
activities so they don’t have to sacrifice one
Career success
Objective career success: status and earnings traditional
career concept
Subjective career
success: influence,
recognition,
accomplishment,
enjoyment etc.
Model of career success
Boundaryless career difficult
to measure and that’s why the
main focus of research is on
objective career success
Tournaments (objective)
social/structural factors override human capital (person
with abilities discouraged after a loss)
Judge et.al reported correlation of satisfaction and salary
objective and subjective career are related
Personality: proactive personality better earnings, promotion
options and career satisfaction – innovative work, challenges, taking
initiative
Social network theory: structural holes and weak ties allow the
person to access many perspectives and their number can predict
contacts and therefore career satisfaction
Structural holes: extent to which and individual’s contacts do
not know each other
Weak ties: many contacts you slightly know rather than few
contacts you know well
Psychological contract
Definition: one’s beliefs about the terms and conditions of an
exchange they have with another party – belief that a form of
promise has been made and that terms and conditions have been
accepted by both parties e.g. informal agreements
1. Relational contract: long-term relationship based on trust and
mutual respect
Employee: loyal and working hard for employer
